1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer system configuration and more particularly relates to disk image customization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever since the first bootstrap loaders were entered via toggle switches on the front control panel of early computers, streamlining and automating system initialization and configuration has been an important design goal. Sophisticated maintenance environments now exist which are almost operating systems in their own right, and may be based either in firmware or the lower functional levels of an actual operating system. The operating system is now typically loaded from a disk image with little or no manual intervention.
While a disk image is very compact and may be loaded very quickly, it has the disadvantage of being a static snapshot (hence the term “image”) of the operating system state as it existed at a single point in time. It therefore lacks flexibility and platform independence.
Prior-art solutions to the problem have included systems management and configuration facilities. Such facilities become very large and complex systems in their own right, providing the desired flexibility and platform independence, but sacrificing simplicity and efficiency to some extent. Customized configuration of systems is typically performed by complex scripts, or manually with the assistance of various tools, drawing upon large, distributed databases of information from which to download the specific customizations that may be required over a network as they are needed. The database and network management that is involved starts to approach the complexity of the primary systems themselves that are being managed thereby. Efficient systems management, including configuration and change control, remains one of the perennial challenges facing the computer industry.